Commonwealth Bank victims outraged by CBA response

Eryk Bagshaw

Victims of the Commonwealth Bank’s financial planning scandal are outraged at the bank’s response to the Senate inquiry and are demanding a royal commission still take place.

“I have absolutely no faith in the independence of their independent panel,” said Merilyn Swan, whose family lost money. “They’re inviting the chickens back into the hen house, but they are still sitting with the fox for dinner.”

Nguyen had forged signatures, manipulated contracts and invested Mr Swan's savings in the highest risk asset portfolio during the global financial crisis. It was a set of investments totally inappropriate for a pensioner, said a financial adviser at Colonial First state.

“I would back any calls and work very hard to make sure that a royal commission gets going,” said Ms Swan. “The CBA needs a dictionary to look up transparency and openness.”

The apology from Commonwealth Bank CEO, Ian Narev on Wednesday, along with the promise of an independent inquiry from the Commonwealth Bank, is too little, too late, for many of the victims.

“Dad’s day is done, I just hope we can get something back,” said Mr Tenni.

Another victim, Janice Braund, was caring for her husband with dementia when she found out a Commonwealth Bank financial adviser had been forging their signatures on dodgy investments in ventures such as Storm financial.

After becoming concerned during the global financial crisis, she asked the financial planning arm of the bank to convert her investments into secure cash on four separate occasions, a task they failed to do.

“A royal commission would be able to go in and say what is going on here, how did it happen, how did it happen for so many years,” Ms Braund said.

“Here we are, the lowly worms, waiting. People have been in the most tragic circumstances, people have died waiting for a return, and nothing has happened.”

The Commonwealth Bank whistleblower, Jeff Morris, who sparked the investigation into the bank's activities, echoed the calls demanding a royal commission.

“Everybody knows a friend or a relative [who's] had a bad experience with a financial planner,” said Mr Morris. “In some cases it costs them their life savings, and it's very hard to recover from that.”

“I’m sorry but the CBA can’t be in control of this process,” he said.

“We will be watching as events unfold and are calling for the panel to establish a truly independent authority. Anything less than this and the panel will simply not deliver the outcomes needed," the Financial Planning Association of Australia said in a statement.

In June, a senate inquiry into financial planning activities at the Commonwealth Bank recommended that a royal commission or a judicial inquiry take place.